"Shaka Zulu" (1986) TV mini-series

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

William C. Faure

Writer:

Joshua Sinclair (writer)

Release Date:

24 November 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History | War

Plot:

Actually, the movie begins and lasts mostly through the reign of George IV, the latter Queen Victoria incidents were classified as the "Zulu Wars". Shaka was dead by then.

Plot Keywords:

Zulu | Africa | South Africa | Impalement | TV Mini-Series

Cast

Edward Fox	...	Lt. Francis Farewell
Robert Powell	...	Dr. Henry Fynn / Narrator
Trevor Howard	...	Lord Charles Somerset
Fiona Fullerton	...	Elizabeth Farewell
Christopher Lee	...	Lord Bathurst
Henry Cele	...	Shaka
Dudu Mkhize	...	Nandi
Roy Dotrice	...	King George IV
Gordon Jackson	...	Prof. Bramston
Kenneth Griffith	...	Zacharias Abrahams
Conrad Magwaza	...	Senzagakona
Patrick Ndlovu	...	Mudli
Roland Mqwebu	...	Ngomane
Gugu Nxumalo	...	Mkabayi
Tu Nokwe	...	Pampata

Runtime:

300 min

Country:

USA | Italy | Australia | South Africa | West Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Australia:M | UK:15 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

South Africa

Company:

Harmony Gold

Trivia:

Based on Joshua Sinclair's own novel "Shaka Zulu", itself based on the oral tradition of the Zulu people.

Quotes:

Shaka: [their final meeting before Shaka's return to his capital, where Shaka will be assassinated by his own aunt] ... Tell me - How do you catch a monkey?
Lt. Francis Farewell: Well, a gourd is used... with a narrow neck. Bait is dropped into the gourd: a piece of fruit, or - or something shiny. The monkey puts his hand into the gourd to get the bait, and then he's trapped... because he can't get his fist out.
Shaka: Once he realizes he's trapped, why doesn't the monkey let go of the bait?
Lt. Francis Farewell: Because his greed makes him blind.
Shaka: And what is he greedy for?
Lt. Francis Farewell: What he thinks he cannot have.
Shaka: And now - What new bait have you brought for this monkey? Something shiny? Like the freshness of youth? Or lost love?
Lt. Francis Farewell: ...Hating my people is not the answer. Together, we can find another way.
Shaka: No. You have already proven that you were never with me. You are a shadow, a man without a nation. Go. I have no need for you anymore.
Lt. Francis Farewell: GO? Go where? WHERE can I go?
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Shield: The Spread (#1.3)" (2002)

Henry Cele was great.

It seems that the best actors were the tribesmen, done on location, and very graphic on the gore. Could tell right away that this wasn't American Television. The Aussie's and New Zelanders, definately make better mini-series than we do.